These Roads Less Traveled
by merlinfrostE
Summary: With Æsahættr in hand, Sonic and Cay embark an an epic adventure, traveling between the worlds of the multiverse on a journey of self discovery that leads them closer to their destiny. But will their destiny lead to the salvation of the universe or its destruction? They meet other versions of themselves, golden eyed wizards, Wizards with wands and much more on roads less traveled.
1. Sega Universe

**Frost: Hello everyone and welcome to the mini series of AMSWBM! This is going to be so much fun to write, especially with all of your help too. In this series, Sonic and Cay will be traveling between worlds, fandoms and you as readers get to suggest and request fandoms! I honestly love this AU so much because at first it was just an idea of "What if Sonic characters had daemons" and now It's evolved into this AU.**

 **Incorporating aspects of His Dark Materials into the Sonic universe is so fun and interesting and creating an AU version of Sonic, making him my own and giving him a totally different personality to the canon Sonic is just so satisfying. This Series will be a great way to understand this version of Sonic, see how he thinks and see how he differs from other Sonic's. I hope your all ready because its time for the next step in this amazing adventure I never want to end.**

Æsahættr, also known as teleutaia makhaira is a knife with a blade so fine it can rip through the fabric between the worlds of the multiverse. No one knows where it came from, only that it was lost centuries ago on a planet known as Earth. It sat hidden on an island deep in the bushland mountains and hidden from man. It sat waiting until it was found by a child with eyes like Emerald's and a soul like fire, constantly changing and dangerously powerful. Sonic blinked as he stepped through the doorway leaving Chris and Earth behind, his fingers dancing along the rip in time and space causing the doorway to seal itself. Before the blue hedgehog was a land of rolling green hills that was teaming with life.

"A new hunting ground." He whispered, Serval-Cay rumbling in agreement by his side. The Knife was tucked safely away inside his quills before they took off at high speed, intent on exploring this strange new world.

It was a variant of Mobius they soon discovered when they spied the flickies running about the hills. The little creatures paused in their play to stare at them, waving happily before carrying on with their games. Sonic was amazed to find the land itself was shaped like a roller coaster with loops, ramps and bends making the run even more enjoyable. There were platforms and springs that would send him and Cay flying up into the air shouting in joy.

It was all so new and exciting that when they spied a little village nearby they didn't stop to think what a variant of Mobius meant. Racing on to this new adventure Sonic tore into the town, the people giving shocked gasps but nothing more. It was this reaction that had him grinding to a halt, Cay switching to his moth form to cling to his ear.

"Sonic! Didn't think you'd be back for another whole day." A villager shouted, a light brown Marmoset if Sonic was correct. He stood alone too, no daemon to be seen in sight. Despite having gotten used to seeing humans without daemons it was almost sickening to see a Mobian without one.

"Does it matter when and when I do not come back?" Sonic asked, watching as the villager blinked in shock at his response. He and the others floundered, looking unsure of how to proceed.

"They think your this world's Sonic! He must act differently to you. We need to leave before they become suspicious" Cay hissed into his ear. Trying not to let the realization show on his face Sonic gave his best smile.

"Sorry, just tired from the journey is all." He apologized to which the villagers smiled back.

"Think nothing of it, you head on home. Tails will be happy your back." The marmoset waved them off to Sonic and Cay's relief. Not looking back they tore off in the direction he'd waved so as not to cause more suspicion. They hadn't considered what would happen if they travelled to a world that already had a version of themselves in it.

"It doesn't have another version of me though." Cay hissed as they perched themselves in a tree, the daemon half as a large eagle. "It's only you."

That has something inside Sonic twisting in revulsion. A version of himself without a daemon, without Cay. The idea is just wrong, so very wrong that he can't help but reach up and run his fingers over Cay's feather's every few minutes.

"This is an unexpected variable," Mobian muttered which has daemon clicking a beak loudly. "Should we leave this world Cay?"

"No, I want to see him." Eagle becomes a beagle, a common form and something he hasn't been since their youth but it's a form better suited to sniffing out their counterpart, Sonic's counterpart. Sonic, for his part, scowls, heels digging into the ground when Cay makes to walk forward.

"Maybe I don't want to see him." He huffed. Cay looked surprised and then annoyed.

"Why wouldn't you want to see him?"

"Because he'll be wrong. He'll have my face and my name but you won't be beside him, he'll be wrong." Sonic growled, arms crossed and quills raised. Cay paused then, his beagle face scrunched up in understanding but determination.

"It will be fine because he'll be different to you. He may have your face but he'll be different so in a way he isn't you which means he doesn't need me." Sonic still didn't look pleased, quills still raised but he relented and followed Cay as he began to sniff out this World's version of himself. It took about an hour because it seems this world's Sonic likes to run all around this hill area but eventually Cay finds a house away from the village that holds the strongest scent mixed with something else.

"There's a Tails here too." The beagle mutters to which Sonic gives a full-bodied shudder. That means no Cyrilla too. He takes a deep calming breath, comforted by Cay sitting on his ear as a moth once more before he knocks on the door. Its quiet for a moment before the tell-tale sounds of hurried foot-steps can be heard rushing towards the door. He knows what to expect but he still recoils a little when Tails opens the door and stands before him completely alone and daemonless.

"Sonic? I didn't think you'd be back till tomorrow. And why are you knocking?" The young fox asks and Sonic is stunned to hear no underlining fear in the Kitsune's voice. Clearly, this worlds version of himself isn't as unnerving as he himself is.

"I think I better clear things up before they get too confusing." He says as a way of greeting. The fox kit tilts his head in confusion looking troubled by his way of speaking. "My name is Sonic but I'm not the Sonic you know of." He expects disbelief so both he and Cay are delighted when the fox nods in understanding.

"We had a run in with a being called a Time Eater a few weeks back and it caused and Sonic from another dimension to appear." Tails explains.

"Ah! Well then. At least that means I won't have to explain too much." Sonic smiles politely but can't help but glance at the kid's shoulder every now and then, wishing to see the gold and white barn owl sitting there. Tails invites him inside, asking if he would like anything to eat or drink which has Sonic realizing just how hungry he truly is. He hasn't eaten since Ella made them that goodbye lunch. While the young Mobian busies himself with making dinner Sonic and Cay take the time to look around the house.

"There are similarities between the two worlds but also stark differences as well. We don't live in a hilly area and this world map is all wrong too." Sonic whispered to Cay who was still clinging to his ear as a moth. "I can't find Svalbard on here or London or the witches settlements."

"We don't have a Spagonia or Apotos back home." The moth whispered back. Sonic frowned at the map while also committing every little detail to memory. He walks down the hallway, looking at photos that seem to depict the various adventures this version of himself has been on over the years. He can't help but jerk back in alarm at the photo of what appears to be a version of himself crossed with a wolf.

"Now that is a beastly image!" He stated, Cay, trembling on his ear with the desire to change and test.

"I take it you never experienced Gia Energy in your world then." Tails is back and still alone which still sets Sonic's teeth on edge.

"I've read about Gia Energy in some Scholars notes but have never seen it in person," Sonic said, eyeing the picture warily. "I take it that this is what happens when negative Gia Energy is introduced to an organic being."

The fox looks floored by his knowledge before his lips quirk up into a small smile. "In a way. Normally negative Gia Energy would just cause emotional changes but because Sonic is such a pure-hearted person it didn't affect him inside, it changed his outward appearance."

"Interesting." Cay hissed, wings fluttering softly.

"Tell me more about this world." Sonic requests. And Tails does. They sit down and the young fox tells stories of wonderful and death-defying adventures, of monsters and ancient powers and myths coming to life. Sonic listens to the similarities and the differences. He perks up when the younger Mobian mentions the rings, however.

"Sega Rings, what are those?" Sonic asked.

"They are made of a strange energy which we call Sega Energy and the rings form when Sega and Chaos Energy meets and mixes. They occur naturally around the planet and seem to have healing properties." Tails explain while pulling out one such Ring for Sonic to inspect. He takes it gently into his hands, watching as it glows brightly at the contact and shivering as his own Chaos Energy seems to call out to it.

"Fascinating. We don't have this Sega Energy back in my world." Sonic said while handing the Ring back. "We have to make our own version of these Rings but instead of healing they give a power boost and are called Power Rings."

Tails looks just as intrigued about Sonic's world as he is with the Fox's. But the night is growing darker and travelling between worlds is a tiring thing. The young Kitsune offers him this worlds Sonic's room but he declines, happy with the couch and happy to not be reminded that somewhere out there is another version of himself that stands just as alone as this Tails is. When they are sure the kid is asleep in his room Cay changes, moth body shifting and forming into that of a wildcat.

"This is getting confusing constantly saying this worlds Sonic. We need a way to tell you apart." Cay huffed, tail lashing behind him in agitation. Sonic considered this for a moment, running through different possibilities before his eyes widen.

"What about my real name?" Cay pauses, his own eyes widening as a smile takes over his face.

"Sonic was only a moniker after all and your name is unique." He considers which has Sonic snorting.

"That's one way of putting it. Honestly, what was our mother thinking giving me a daemon name?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. But still, it is a good name if a little long and hard to pronounce for most."

Sonic hummed in agreement. "We'll shorten it. Like how I shortened yours."

"I think Thran or Tam then." Cay suggested to which Sonic paused in consideration. His birth name was a bit of a mouth full and those two abbreviations were much easier on the tongue.

"Tam will do. I don't understand why we stopped using the name, to begin with. Was it really such a chore for the Scholars and Mobians to say?" Sonic asked because he truly didn't have any problems with his name. It was everyone else who started calling him Sonic and he just went along with it to avoid an unnecessary confrontation.

"Again, your guess is as good as mine." Cay shrugged, curling up on his other half's chest as a polecat. "So Tam?"

Blue was silent for just a moment, thinking over the name before nodding. "Tam it is."

The next morning Tam is awake before Tails which allows Cay to quickly become a little brown huntsman that sits hidden within the mass of blue quills. They are just startling breakfast when the front door swings open and a new figure steps into the house. Tam tenses and feels Cay bristle within his quills because standing before them is Sonic, this worlds Sonic and he is painfully alone. Twin emerald green eyes lock with each other, one shocked beyond belief while the other is trying to hide their discomfort.

"Sonic, your home! We have a visitor. He's from another dimension." Tails rushes to explain while getting a third plate ready.

Tam watches as his double blinks, shakes his head before an easy going smile slips onto his face. Again, the differences are startling. This Sonic is relaxed, trusting and most of all, happy. Tam is happy too but it's a different happy. Tam is a cynical and cold happiness while the hedgehog before him is a pure and innocent happiness.

"Well, nice to meet you then. I'm Sonic but I guess you already knew that." He holds a hand out to shake, his smile genuine and honest. Tam smiles back but it's a board strained thing compared to this radiant sun before him.

"Yes, I did indeed know that and while I am also a variant of Sonic I understand it will get confusing if we both continue to use that name. Therefore you may call me Tam." It amusing but also jarring to see the expression of bafflement on his own face but Tam is kept comforted and steady by Cay.

"He's certainly more eloquent than you." Tails chuckled, walking over and placing the plate of eggs, sausages and toast before Sonic who can only nod slowly.

"I guess he is," Sonic mutters but recovers quickly. "So, what World are you from and what brings you to this one?"

"My World is very much like your own in some ways yet vastly different. For one, our map is greatly different. We do not have a Spagonia or Apotos in my world. Instead, we have a land called Svalbard where the Ice Bears live." Tam says while scooping up some eggs.

"Ice Bears? What are those?" Tails is almost vibrating with excitement.

"Ice Bears are what Mobians call them but they are actually called the Panserbjørn race. They are large sentient bears looking like Polar Bears and they craft great pieces of armour from Sky-iron. They can be hired as mercenaries and are nearly impossible to deceive." Tam explained.

"They sound fascinating." Tails breathed in awe to which Tam smiled.

"They are, I hope to meet with one someday."

"Did you like, swallow a dictionary or something?" Sonic asked through a mouth full of food. Tam felt how Cay trembled in disgust, both wondering how they could be somehow connected to this being before them.

"If I was to have swallowed anything it would most likely be a thesaurus." He snipped, pleased at the way Sonic gave a confused huff while Tails snorted into his orange juice. Cay twitched and Tam felt him change but couldn't see what he'd become. He was still small, that much Tam knew but if he was a mammal or insect he didn't know and his daemon didn't feel the need to voice his new form. Tam would have tried to ask if a loud beeping sound hadn't broken the somewhat comfortable silence that had fallen over the dining table. He looked up as Sonic lifted his wrist that seemed to hold some sort of communication device on it.

"What's going on Knuckles?" The hero asked.

"The Master Emerald has been picking up on a strange energy signal. I'm calling everyone to come to Angel Island to discuss so get here quickly." The impatient voice of the Red Echidna came through the device and Tam hummed.

"You're telling me to be quick." Sonic scoffed before hanging up, turning to Tam with a bright smile. "Seems your arrival has been noticed. Ready to meet the rest of the gang?"

"I'd be delighted," Tam said, his eerie smile back in place. Sonic didn't seem to notice it but Tails gave a small shiver and in that moment Tam couldn't help but see the faint outline of a barn owl sitting upon his shoulder.

"Just like with Chris." Cay hissed from his quills. Tam sent agreement yet unease through the bond because if he was seeing the imprints of daemons than he was terrified of what he might see if he looked to his double. Would he see the same as Cay, a changing force that never settled? Or would he see a single form that wasn't the same as Cay's true settled form, the winged serval?

They travel to the Floating Island by plane and the whole way there Tam refuses to look at his double. Cay slips away unseen, flying just out of sight under the plane as a northern goshawk. Tam rejoices in the way he can feel Cay dipping and swooping through the air, riding the wind currents with practised ease. When they land he returns to him, a little golden moth that sits on the back of his ear out of sight for he keeps to the back of the group. He stays back, listening as Tails and Sonic greet their friends and explain where the strange energy signals are coming from. Tam waits until he hears Sonic call out to him and he steps into view, quills raising only slightly at the lonely creatures standing before him.

"Great, another Sonic." Knuckles huffs and Tam can almost see the tigress prowling along at his side.

"I may be another variant of your Sonic but I can assure you we are quite different. For one thing, my name is Tam." He says, watching as the group blinks at his words.

"He certainly sounds more intelligent than you Faker." Shadow notes which has Sonic scowling at the elder male. Tam smiles a half smile before his eyes are drawn to the Master Emerald that is suddenly glowing with power as a watery figure emerges from its depths. The group before him is tense and wary but Tam is delighted to see the face of an old friend even if he is only a variant.

"Hello, Chaos." He bows his head respectively, the God bowing back. Tam knows that the ancient being can sense Cay, knows of the two ancient artefacts he carries hidden in his quills.

"Some things never change." Cay whispers in joy. The daemon had always liked Chaos and the way the being just knew things.

"I guess that means you have a Chaos back in your world as well," Sonic says to which Tam nods once.

"Yes, he is a good friend back home."

Knuckles looks shocked by this. Clearly, this world's Sonic isn't as in tune with energies as he himself is if he hasn't bonded with the God of Chaos. Strange how these subtle differences make such a change to how things have played out. Tam steps forward, intent on speaking with the Guardian when the ground beneath their feet explodes. There are screams of shock but Tam is quick t right himself mid-air, landing perfectly on his feet along with Sonic and Shadow. Cay is tense on his ear, ready to defend and fight in needed.

"Seems I've found the source of the new energy," Tam growls at the voice, cold emerald eyes flashing with anger at the sight of the over-weight human before them. Eggman leers down at him as well, a look Tam is used to seeing on a certain vulture. "And I thought one was trouble. At least now I'll have the pleasure of ending Sonic not once but twice."

"You can try Egg-head but your way out of your depth here. You can barely beat just me on a good day, how are you gonna hope to win against two?" Sonic taunts while bouncing up and down on his feet. The human glares before pressing a button on his hovercraft that sends multiple rockets flying at them. The dance begins and Tam twists, turns, ducks and weaves easily between them while his double runs head-on into them. Their fighting styles are different too it seems. Tam avoids while Sonic destroys.

The distraction of watching his double fight is enough for Eggman to get the jump on Tam who yelps when one of the projectiles skims past his side, cutting the skin and forcing him to his knees. His cry of pain alerts everyone and Eggman laughs, pointing a gun at the fallen hedgehog and firing. Sonic yells but is too far away to save Tam in time and everyone knows it which is why Cay finally decides to act. The laser hits the ground sending dust into the air. Everyone is tense, expecting to see a fallen body but are shocked when instead they see Tam perfectly fine despite the gash he's sustained. Beside him stands a large white tiger.

"That was too close for comfort." The tiger speaks causing everyone but Tam to jump. "Pay more attention to your surroundings next time."

"A simple lapse in judgement, won't happen again," Tam promises.

"What is this?" Eggman shouts to which Tam gives him a bored stare.

"This is a waste of our time." The hedgehog states before turning to the tiger. "Cay?"

Cay smiles a wicked smile full of sharp teeth. "Thought you'd never ask dear one."

He leaps into the air and shocks everyone again when his body contorts and changes into that of a large silver dragon with golden horns and trimmed wings. He flaps his wings once, twice before turning his body, swinging his tail out in an ark that smacks right into the hovercraft and sending Eggman screaming away into the distance. Cay shrinks down when he lands till he's the size of a cat so that he can sit happily on Tam's shoulder, sea green eyes sparkling with mirth. Tam thinks that perhaps he's enjoying this a little too much but his daemon has never been one to follow what one would call normal. Ignoring the preening dragon sitting on his shoulder Tam turns to the group of Mobians that has slowly inched their way towards him, eyes on Cay and that is so strange because normally it is considered rude to stare at another daemon.

"What is that?" Of course, its Amy who asks and Tam has to repress the automatic sneer wanting to take over his face.

 _"He_ is my daemon thank you very much. Some respect would be appreciated."

They all blink, looking decidedly wary. "A demon?"

"Daemon, with an A before the E," Tam stresses while Cay gives a snort of amusement.

"We better explain before their minds cave in." He chuckles before facing them. "In our world, everyone has a daemon. A daemon, to put it simply is a part of your soul that has manifested outside your body in the form of an animal that best represents who you are as a person. When you are young they change shape but when you are about twelve years old they settle into a single form."

"You haven't though." Rouge points out but it's not nasty, it's curious and playful and Cay smiles while becoming a golden monkey.

"Settling is boring, I'd much rather stay unsettled and continue to change." He grins.

Tam rolls his eyes but goes on to explain more about daemons such as the rule about not touching them, their genders and speaking with them and how Cay breaks nearly every single of those rules because they are trivial and they are hardly going to follow them just because someone says they should. He also tells them about their own daemons when they ask. Throughout it all Sonic remains silent, eyeing Cay in a strange way.

"It sounds amazing, having a constant companion by your side." Cream gushes and Tam's mind screams _Lamb._

"You're never lonely." He puts in and then feels Cay shift. Turning finds him as a little white ermine that is scurrying down his body to the ground and heading straight for Sonic. Tam tenses, lips pulling back in a snarl when his daemon gets within touching distance and everyone has gone stiff where they stand. "Caedmon."

The ermine twitches at his full name, tempted to say Tam's full name back in response but he holds still and calm. "I want to try something."

"No," Tam growls and it's a dark low thing. "You said it yourself, he isn't me. We are too different."

"But fundamentally he is the same. And it shouldn't hurt too much if I'm wrong because I'm letting it happen." Cay argues. Tam spits with rage, stalking forward to pluck his daemon into his arms and away from his double but Cay is determined and so rushed forward, spring towards Sonic who cries out in shock yet sticks his arms out to catch the daemon on instinct.

There's a rush of something that feels horribly wrong for just a moment before it settles and sits as just an uncomfortable skin crawling sensation. Tam gives a choked sound, Cay grinding his teeth loudly while Sonic sways where he stands. The group watches, wide-eyed and stunned until finally, Cay wriggles free from Sonic's hold and darts back to Tam who snatches him up and squeezes him close, Cay changing into his favoured serval form.

"Don't you ever do that again." Tam hisses, his back still far too tense and straight.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to know." Cay whimpered right back. Tam spat but didn't yell like he wanted to. He just cuddled Cay close, assuring himself that his daemon wasn't about to leave him for another version of himself.

"He didn't feel right." Tam looked up at Sonic who was watching them warily, the easy-going smile gone. "He didn't feel like a part of me which is what he was looking for. Does that mean if I had a daemon he would be different?"

Tam looked at his double, really looked and suddenly he understood why it hadn't felt right. It both relaxed something deep inside him while also made it twist uncomfortably. "Yes, _she_ is different to Cay."

Sonic's eyes widened while unconsciously reaching out to his left side where Tam could see a powerful looking She-wolf standing. Wolves were surrounded by controversy, often said to belong to psychopaths, mentally unstable or abused people. But the She-wolf standing by Sonic's side didn't look like the ragged mangy daemon of the books he'd seen. She was powerful, dangerous, striking and beautiful. She represents what wolf daemons used to stand for, the daemon of a warrior. Cay gave a low yowl, ears flicking and tail lashing when the She-wolf stepped up to Sonic's side, head held high.

"Sephronia" He whispered to Tam who hissed in return.

It feels wrong to stay here any longer. This world is too similar yet too different for their liking and Tam says as much to the gathered group after Amy and Cream have stitched up his wound. There isn't much of a tearful goodbye as they haven't known any of them for very long but Sonic looks troubled, unnerved about how different they appear to be from each other. Another good reason to move on Tam thinks.

"Thank you all for your hospitality." He says while drawing out Æsahættr, swinging it down in an arch and opening a new door to a new world. The group before him jumps, eyes wide in wonder at what the Knife can do. Once again, like with Chris, Tam turns to face Sonic who still looks worried. "You'll meet her one day, in fact, I think you already have in a small way from your time with the Gia Energy."

And before his double can ask any questions Tam steps through the doorway, eyes locked on the She-wolf who bows her head back at him in parting. Cay huffs yet he changes still, becoming the white Dire Wolf he loves so much which sends a thrill of something through Tam that he doesn't wish to understand.

 **Frost: So as you can see, this daemon version of Sonic has a different name to canon. It isn't Maurice but instead is a name normally given to a daemon. Picking his name was fun and I love calling him Tam and I will be calling him that for the rest of the series. If you have a problem with this I apologize but my decision is final. Feel free to have a guess at what is full name is as well.**

 **Finally, don't forget to send in requests on what World Tam and Cay should travel too. If you want, you can even suggest what should happen when they travel to that Universe. I want this series to be as much your story as it is mine. So send in reviews or PM's and I will see you all next time!**


	2. Underground Universe

**Frost: Hey everyone and here is chapter two! So glad to see you guys are enjoying this so far. I am certainly having lots of fun with it and exploring what I can do now that Tam and Cay are free to travel to different worlds.**

 **Now to answer some questions. You guys have asked me if these worlds that you can suggest are restricted to the Sonic fandom. No, they are not. Yes, I am sending him to other Sonic canon universes but I do plan on sending him to other worlds such as Merlin and possible Rise of the Guardians too. If you have a movie or TV show you wanna suggest feel free. This is a project that hasn't been attempted before as far as I can see in the Sonic fanfiction world and I want you all to join in with the experience so please send in suggestions.**

 **Now on to the next Universe and adventure, hope your all ready!**

They left behind rolling green hills and bright blue skies and walked into a blackened and dead forest with chemical-filled air. It was a shock to the system, Tam coughing loudly while Cay changed into a buzzing green dragon-fly that zipped back and forth in agitation. The energy of the planet was unbalanced as well which had Tam stumbling for a moment, trying to figure out how to move in such a disorderly place. He yelped when a stumbled to the floor, hands falling into a puddle of some kind that began to eat away at his white gloves. Ripping them off before the chemical could reach his skin, Tam scowled angrily at the world around him.

"This place is sick, the planet is dying." He spat hatefully, dragon-fly Cay buzzing anxiously by his ear. Tam surveyed his surroundings, cold emerald pools quickly locating what appeared to be a city of some kind in the distance. Tall metal towers jutted up into the sky, factories pumping more toxic fumes into the air that turned the sky an ugly green colour. It was human-made, that much Tam knew. Even if this was another variant of Mobius he knew that only humans could be capable of such destruction. The city though was their best bet at finding life so with great reluctance Tam began to run towards it. It was like running through a nuclear wasteland, no life could be seen in any direction. The grass did not grow, birds did not call and the waterways were choked with all manner of man-made chemicals.

The city was even worse. The streets were bleak and empty, dust-covered and had scraps of metal lying everywhere. It was dark with an air of hopelessness surrounding it. Tam looked around and wondered if he'd stepped into the scene of one of Chris' dystopian movies. He was just starting to wonder where all the people were when a large intimidating looking robot appeared before him, arm pointed right at him that had a gun attached to it.

"Priority one hedgehog!" Tam blinked in surprise, easily moving to the side of the laser beam that was fired at him. Looking at the robot, Tam could see that it wasn't designed to move fast. It was large and bulky, cumbersome and more suited to crowd control than one to one combat. With this in mind, the blue teen rushed forward, curling into a ball and extending his quills to slice easily through the useless hunk of metal. The robot spluttered and sparked for a few seconds before crashing to the floor, Tam watching the whole time.

"More advanced then Eggman's but still mediocre at best," Cay whispered as a small lizard of some kind the same shade of peach as Tam's shoulder to blend in a keep hidden. The Mobian half hummed, eyes looking at all the different parts that made up the robot. Turning away from the smoking pile of junk the young Mobian took in the area around him.

It looked like there used to be small shabby looking shops set up along the street, wooden stands abandoned and falling apart on either side. Some of the windows had rags hung up to provide modest covering and privacy while bags of rubbish were thrown carelessly into the street. People had lived here in a meagre existence yet now all the remained was memories and imprints. The longer Tam stood there the more he felt the ghosts of those that once called this place home. It was eerie in a way he'd never quite felt before.

"Over there." Lizard Cay whispered, gesturing with his tiny head to one of the windows. Tam turned, watching as the cloth flap covering the window moved as if someone had just dropped a section of it. Quills raising in natural defence Tam began to walk slowly towards the old wooden door that was hanging from the door frame by its hinges. The room the door led into was small, tables, chairs and boxes piled high and with no real order to them with a thick layer of dust covering them. However, within the dust, Tam could see small disturbances where someone had walked through recently. From the look of the faint footprints, it was either a child or young teen and they were alone, only one set of footprints could be seen. Tam frowned, emerald eyes flashing all around the room while blue triangular ears swivelled back and forth to try and detect even the slightest sound.

A faint shuffling sound echoed around the room, emanating from a cupboard on the far wall. Moving slowly and carefully, Tam crept towards the cupboard, Cay sitting tense on his shoulder and ready to change if needed. Silently taking hold of the handle Tam waited for just a second before ripping the door open. A loud yell was heard before a small figure rammed into Tam sending the hedgehog stumbling backwards. Moving quickly, Tam grabbed the figure by the arms, holding tightly while using his larger size and greater strength to hold the figure still.

"Easy, easy. I'm not going to hurt you." He spoke slow and in a low tone, watching as the figure who he could now see was indeed a child calmed. They were a small light orange bear cub with an olive green sleeveless vest and dark brown pants. On their hands were brown gloves and their eyes were a deep obsidian black. They looked half starved as well, face gaunt and limbs like twigs. The child gave a hiccuping cry, tears welling up as they trembled in fright. They were probably only about nine or ten years old and they were alone.

"Please…please don't leave." The child whimpered pitifully. Tam frowned at them, hands loosening their tight grip.

"I'm not going anywhere for now." He muttered which had the child fully relaxing. "My name is Tam."

"Lucus." Came the small shy response.

"Lucus, nice to meet you then. Can you tell me what happened here Lucus, where your family is and the rest of the Mobians?" Tam asked.

The boy trembled, those strange black eyes looking about in fear. "The Swatbots came a few days ago. They captured all the people and destroyed the houses. My Mama and Papa hid me in the cellar under the carpet but they never came back."

The tears were flowing again and Tam felt a small amount of pity for the child. Only a small amount though, he didn't know what it was like to miss a parent after all. "Do you know of any safe places then that I can take you too?"

"Y-yeah, there's a place called Sanctuary. It's in the forest about a three-day journey from here. Mama and Papa were gonna take me there but the Swatbots came before they could." Lucus mumbled.

Tam hummed in thought. This world was most certainly much darker than any he'd seen. His own home had its fair share of strife but it was always easily taken care of, same as seen in Chris' and the Sega world. This one seemed to be in the grips of a tyrannical takeover. Tam wanted to explore it, Cay did too, but this child needed a safe place. Tam wasn't one to cuddle and spend time with children, but he also wasn't the kind to leave them when they clearly needed help. Cay trembled on his shoulder, becoming a small peach coloured spider.

"It will only be for a few days at most." He whispered to his Mobian who sighed in defeat.

"Can you walk Lucus?" Tam asked making the child jump.

"Yes. Why?"

"I want you to look around the house and find any clothes, food and torches you can. I'm going to take you to this Sanctuary." Tam watched as the child's eyes widened before a small hesitant smile took over his face. The boy was quick to do as instructed, finding a small black knapsack and putting as much as could be fit into it. Tam stood by the door, keeping an eye out for more Swatbots which is probably what he destroyed earlier.

"It called me a priority one," Tam muttered softly. Cay was a margay, a small wild cat that looked a little like a leopard. He sat outside by the wall, hidden if Lucus re-appeared.

"There must be another Sonic here then. Makes sense if this is a Mobius Variant." He said, tail twitching beside him.

"This world, its rife with grief and misery," Tam said back, eyes turned to the large imposing metal structure at the city centre. "This place has known war."

"All places have known war, this one is just still trapped in one." Cay chuckled. The blue one huffed through his nose but didn't respond. He did turn however when Lucus stumbled back into the room with a full knapsack. In the child's hands, he carried what looked like a framed photo of his parents and what appeared at first glance to be a bundle of black clothing.

"I saw you didn't have any gloves." Lucus pointed out while handing over the black cloth. Tam took it, blinking when he saw they were in fact gloves. They were completely black and fingerless to and when he slipped them on they went all the way up to his elbow. They were comfortable and felt right on his skin.

"Thank you." Lucus smiled at the words. "Come now, we have a long journey ahead of us and hopefully it will not take us three days."

The bear cub trotted forward, reaching out and taking Tam's right hand. The hedgehog stiffened while Cay in the form of a wasp buzzed frantically for a moment. Lucus didn't seem to notice, smiling happily now that he had an elder to guide and look out for him. Tam looked at their joined hands for a long moment before relaxing, walking forward and towards the dead forest where he'd come from.

"Where are you from?" Lucus was full of questions once they had left the city behind them, the fear of its metal walls melting away as the old dead trees welcomed them instead.

"Far from here, a place you would never have heard of," Tam muttered while helping the child over a fallen tree.

"That's what you think but maybe I have heard of it." The bear cub argued to which Tam smiled and Cay chittered in amusement from the trees as a squirrel.

"I come from a place called Stanford," Tam said deciding it would be safe to assume the child didn't have a good grasp of this world's layout and would therefore not realize that Stanford probably didn't exist in this world. True to this assumption Lucus blinked before flushing bright red.

"Okay, so maybe I haven't heard of this Stanford." He mumbled, kicking at the dirt. "Sounds like a fancy place though. Were you an upper-class citizen or something?"

Again Tam had to think. This world truly was far more different to his own then the Sega one had been. Back in his world, they didn't have social classes. Tam thought about his childhood and his home life, what the house looked like and how well he ate.

"Middle-class." He settled on. "Though I did not spend much of my time at home. I liked to frequent the Stanford University."

"University? What's that?" Lucus asked as they trecked deeper into the forest, Tam pleased to see life returning as they went in the form of growing grass and trees with leaves on them.

"A University is a place of learning where Scholars, who are like professors and scientists live and work. It's a place where books are kept and documents are stored regarding important pieces of knowledge and where young ones such as yourself can go to be tutored." Tam explained. Lucus wrinkled his nose at this.

"So it's like a school then? Why would you wanna hang around a place like that when you were a kid? School is boring."

"Perhaps it seems that way to you and I did, in fact, find my own school very boring. But the University provided a challenge for me. Its knowledge was beyond what we were taught in school and it gave me power." Tam said, eyes tracking Cay as he jumped from branch to branch.

"Why'd you leave then? Did the Swatbots come to Stanford too?" Lucus asked and Tam paused.

"No…I left because I did not belong there anymore."

Lucus was wise enough not to press the matter. They walked on, watching the forest around them slowly began to come to life. The grass and trees turned greener, birds could soon be heard singing in the trees and when they came upon a small creek the water was clean and fresh. Tam had them stop by the creek so Lucus could wash himself as the kid was covered in dust, mud and filth.

"Mister Tam, can we have some food as well?" Lucus asked when he was done washing.

Emerald green eyes glanced at their food stores. Three cans of vegetable soup and a bar of chocolate. The survivor part of his brain was telling him no, save the food in case the trip took longer. But the kid was painfully thin and looked like he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks. With a sigh, Tam opened a can and threw it to the kid, watching as he ate the thing as quickly as he could. It was only when he was almost finished that Lucus paused, glancing up at Tam worriedly.

"Do you want some Mister Tam?"

"No, I can last a while without food and I ate not too long ago," Tam responded, thinking back on the eggs, sausages and toast the Sega Tails had given him just that morning. Lucus frowned, looking like he was going to protest but Tam was already standing. "We need to get going again. The sun will be set in two hours and I want to make some more ground before we stop for the night."

Suddenly Lucus looked a little unsure of himself, moving quickly to Tam's side and taking his hand once more. "We'll be outside when its dark?"

Tam blinked while Cay flew down as a little white butterfly to perch on a flower by their feet. "Yes, houses aren't something that just spring up when needed after all."

"Oh. Do you think the flashlights will last all night?" The child asked.

Again Tam was confused until Cay fluttered by his ear with a whispered, "He's scared of the dark."

Tam thought back on his own childhood. Of nights spent hiding in the closet in his room in the dark while his Uncle loudly stumbled about the house looking for him so he could beat him. Perhaps he would have been scared of the dark had he been alone but he'd always had Cay with him, a constant companion to reassure him that everything would turn out okay. It reminded Tam once again how painfully lonely it must be to live with your soul inside.

"I know how to make a fire. That will provide us with light throughout the night." He muttered, wondering why he was protecting and now reassuring this child. He had no emotional attachments to him, had no reason to soothe away the fears. It was odd and something Tam pushed aside to think over later.

"Can you teach me to make fire?" Lucus asked suddenly losing his fear and bouncing with excitement. Tam watched, a small smile coming to his face while his eyes went half closed.

"If you wish, it is an important skill to learn."

They continued to walk for an hour and a half, watching as the sky slowly grew darker and was splashed with colour, turning a bright fiery red. Lucus awed over it having never seen such a sight living inside the city all his life while Tam watched with a lazy sort of smile on his face, turning to the child to speak. "Old tribes used to believe a red sunset signalled that innocent blood had been spilt that day and that sin was crawling in the world for the night."

"Really? Where'd you hear that?" The boy asked.

"At my boring University." Tam smiled when the boy flushed once more. "One of the Scholars who specialised in ancient texts and history was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to educate me on such matters."

"You sure talk like one of those professor types I've seen. They liked to stick their noses up at us when they walked through the market cause they thought they were better than us, what with being personal guest of Robotnick." Lucus pointed out and Tam paused.

"Robotnick?" He asked and Lucus gave a small laugh.

"Yeah you know, the human who's in charge of the planet. You can't tell me you ain't heard of him. He's the one who builds the Swatbots and is why the forests are dying and why people go missin'. He takes em' away to be roboticized." Lucus said. Tam gave a sharp intake of breath while Cay clacked his raven beak loudly from above them. This world was most certainly darker than their own.

"He's the reason you were all alone back there?" Tam asked and Lucus looked down sadly.

"Yeah, he got sick of us 'street rats' infecting his city so ordered for our section to be cleared out."

Tam scowled but let the matter drop. They had to set up camp. He moved quickly, aware of the kids fear of the oncoming dark and soon they had a roaring fire blazing before them. Tam set out the blankets they'd salvaged from the old house, laying them on the ground beside the fire but not too close. Lucus rolled over some logs they could use to sit on and used the fire to heat up the left-overs from the can he'd been eating earlier. The child ate four bites before passing it over to Tam who blinked in shock.

"Your nearly as thin as me." The boy laughed. Tam didn't know how to respond to that so decided to just relent and eat. There wasn't much left, only three bites but Tam still felt his stomach settle at the nutrients given to it. With night now full set around them Lucus shivered a little where he sat, staying close to the fire and Tam. Cay was close as well, sitting as a black panther a few feet to Tam's left where Lucus couldn't seem him but his night vision allowed him to see them. Tam wished to go over to him, to lay against his side and feel the big cats breathing but they had learned their lesson from Chris' world, learned that it was best to keep Cay's nature a secret for as long as they could until they knew if others could be trusted.

Shaking himself away from those thoughts Tam focused once more on his charge who was eyeing that dark forest around them warily. "Why do you fear the dark?"

Lucus jumped but relaxed almost instantly when he realized it was just Tam. The boy was silent for a moment, poking at the fire with a stick. "Well, you can't see in the dark. You can't see if somethin' is sneaking up on you or watchin' you. And dark is what fights against the light."

"Fight light? What do you mean by that?" Tam asked.

"You know, good and evil. The resistance and Robotnick. It's the same with Dark and Light. The light is the Resistance and the dark is Robotnick." The child explained in a way only a child could. Tam was silent, keeping watched as the boy slowly sank down onto his blanket and fell asleep. He waited an hour before reaching into his quills and pulling out the Alethemoiter as Cay floated over gracefully to stand by his side. He relaxed his mind, sinking into the levels of understanding and symbols as he asked his question to the ancient device.

 _Is Robotnik a worse version of Eggman?_

 _They are one and the same._

Tam shuddered at the response, Cay growling low beside him. The implication was there, that if pushed enough Eggman and Adonia could end up doing what this world's version of himself had done. It was unsettling to think about so Tam decided not to think about it. Instead, he reached out and pressed up against his daemon, his falling close as he sank into the bond that was him and Cay.

 **I really had a lot of fun writing the interactions between Tam and Lucus. It was also fun to expand on Tam's world because as you can see he isn't the same as the Sega Sonic so he wouldn't have been born in the same place (Christmas Island/Green hill, whichever you prefer). I'd mentioned the Stanford University back in AMSWBM so I decided why not make that the name of the town he was born and lived in as a child. You have to remember that Tam's world is a mix of Sonic and His Dark Materials so there are going to be differences. I'll be expanding on these differences through this series and exploring them too.**

 **Again, if you have a world you wish Tam and Cay to visit then either review or send in a PM. This is our adventure so lets make it fun and exciting. Until then I will see you all next time.**


	3. Underground Universe Part 2

**Frost: Yay! Chapter 3 and part 2 to the Underground Universe. I gotta say, this chapter was really fun to write. I really feel like I'm getting inside Tam's head and giving him a true personality that separates him from the other Sonic's. It is so satisfying to see this AU coming to form and coming into its own. A big thank you to all those that have reviewed, sent a PM or have added this to their favs and really fills me with joy to see people enjoying what I write.**

 **As always, feel free to send in requests on what Universe Tam and Cay should visit next and enjoy this chapter!**

They wake when the sun is just kissing the sky turning it a light pink. Cay is quick to fly up into the trees as a merlin flacon, a form that as Tam missing his Shadow. By the time Lucus is awake there is a fresh can of vegetable soup warmed over the glowing coals waiting for them. The kid helps to clean up the campsite, kicking dirt over the fire pit to prevent a fire and moving the logs aside. Its silent as Tam looks at the rising sun to determine which way is East which is where Lucus said Sanctuary was located and then they are off once more.

Their journey so far had been simple and easy which is why Tam was somewhat prepared for the sudden attack from the robots. He just knew their luck would hold out for too much longer. They appear out of nowhere, guns raised and surrounding them on all sides, echoing the phrase 'Priority one hedgehog' back at each other. Lucus is clinging to Tam's side, eyes wide and afraid while Tam stands tense and ready. Cay is perched above them, flacon eyes watching intently and silently transferring information to Tam.

"When I tell you to drop to the ground do it." Tam hissed, waiting until Lucus nodded before facing the robots. Its a standoff, tense and suffocating until Tam sees it, the subtle shift one of the robots makes that lets him know what about to happen. He waits and then it moves and Cay gives a loud screaming cry. "Lucus now!"

The bear cub drops like a stone and Tam jumps, the lasers flying over Lucus and under him before hitting the other robots. There's sparks, explosions and the horrid sound of metal tearing and in the confusion, Tam darts forward at high speed, arm extended to rip right through the remaining robots like butter. When the dust settles the robots are lying still and smoking and Tam stands tall and proud before Lucus who sits on the ground in stunned silence.

"Are you okay?" Tam asked to which Lucus gave a spluttering cough.

"You, you're a superhero!" The child exclaimed. Tam gave a breathy chuckle, watching as the boy scrambled to his feet and bounded over. "You have super powers! Why didn't you say anything about it, what else can ya do? Is that why your eyes are a funny colour?"

"I wouldn't call them superpowers, they are more like abilities, enhanced senses and aspects of my physiology that allow me to perform these great feats," Tam said while starting to walk East once more. Lucus just scoffed at this.

"Those are just fancy words for superpowers. And you didn't answer my questions. Can you do other stuff?" He asked.

"I can sense energies and run at extremely high speeds. I am also fairly strong." Tam offered up.

"Cool! Is the enhanced thing why your eyes are a weird colour too?" Lucus asked and Tam blinked.

"Do people here not have coloured eyes then?"

"No, we all have black eyes. Did people in your Stanford have coloured eyes?"

It was dangerous to say yes because then the kid could piece it together or he could talk to others and they would get suspicious. "A few do, but not everyone."

Lucus hummed, face scrunched up in thought. "Wonder why that is then." Tam didn't answer, wary of what might slip out if he wasn't careful.

They kept walking, stopping at creeks to drink and eating from berry bushes along the way. Throughout it all Cay kept watch, switching from falcon to squirrel, possum to Robin, butterfly to fox. He kept out of sight most of the time but would occasionally dart past them just to get close to Tam which the blue hedgehog greatly appreciated. That is until Lucus started to notice.

"Can you control animals too?" The child asked around mid-day.

"No, why do you ask?" Tam questioned right back.

"Cause animals keep following us." Lucus pointed out while also pointing to Cay who was sitting by a bush as a brown hare. Tam's quills rose slightly while Cay thumped his foot in agitation, Lucus watching the interactions and frowning in confusion.

"No, I do not control animals," Tam said again while looking at Cay. The daemon wasn't happy at being referred to as a common animal, itching with the urge to change.

 _'Can he be trusted?'_ Tam sent to him, watching as Cay's ears rose in thought.

 _'He is young, pure and innocent. I do not feel he would exploit my existence.'_ He sent back and Tam nodded.

"Cay, come here please." He called out loud and Lucus watched in shock as the hare raced across the grass to Tam's side. He was even more shocked when the hare melted into the body of an African wild dog.

"Woah, magic animal." He muttered to which Cay huffed loudly.

"I am far above a common animal." He snarked causing Lucus to jump.

"Play nice," Tam warned before turning to his charge. "I cannot control animals and I do not control Cay here. That is because Cay isn't an animal and has been following us willingly."

"But why, is he a friend of yours? And why was he hiding?" The boy asked.

"Cay is very special. He is a friend of mine but he's also much more. He is my soul in a physical body which is why he's been hiding. Being my soul means if he gets hurt I feel the same pain and vice versa. That also means he could be used against me." Tam explained, watching as Lucus paled in horror at the very thought. It was strange how those without daemons still seemed to understand on an instinctual level the magnitude to having a daemon hurt, touched or used against their person.

"So…he's you?" Lucus finally asked and Tam smiled.

"Yes, he is me and I am him."

Lucus was good at understanding what Cay was, respected the daemons space and wasn't bothered by his sometimes rude responses. He took it all in stride, asking the right questions and slowly gaining Cay's favour with such questions. The daemon was much happier now that he could ride on Tam's shoulder in plain sight and talk with his boy which also helped him to become more tolerant of the kid.

"So why is your soul outside you then? No one else's' is." Lucus asked.

"An accident when we were younger." Cay said without missing a beat. Tam was impressed with his ability to spin a believable tale so quickly. "We were messing with things we shouldn't have been, or I guess Tam was and thus I came into being."

"Did it hurt?" Lucus pressed.

"A little bit. It felt like having something pulled from your body." Tam put in to make the story more believable. Lucus looked like he was going to ask more questions when suddenly Tam spotted something through the trees. They were buildings and carried on the wind were voices. Cay was a little yellow spider in an instant, crawling to sit on Tam's ear. Lucus blinked at his sudden departure before also taking note of the voices and buildings.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you'd get me here in under three days." He whistled and Tam snorted.

"I like to be efficient."

Lucus took his hand once more and Tam led him towards the village. Again, Tam didn't think of the possibility of being recognized as this world's Sonic seeing how Lucus hadn't. He walked into the village with Lucus and blinked when people began to stop and point, excitement washing through the whole place in a matter of minutes.

"Sonic? What are you doing here? You and the others aren't meant to get here for another week." Someone called causing Tam to look up into the face of a young male lion who froze when he saw the bright green eyes staring back. Tam smiled while gesturing to Lucus who was frowning in confusion beside him.

"I found this young one alone inside the city and have brought him here for safety and shelter. And, as you can see I am not who you think I am. Perhaps we should go somewhere privet to talk?" He suggested and watched as the lion nodded numbly, looking very wary as he gestured for Tam to follow. He paused before he did, turning to Lucus with a smile. "Seems this is where we part ways."

The child looked crestfallen, tears welling up in his eyes once more. "I'm gonna miss you, Tam. But I ain't gonna forget you or what you've taught me like the tribes and the sunset and how to make a fire."

Tam smiled down at the child, gently ruffing the fur on his head. "I am glad that my knowledge won't go to waste then. You take care of yourself, Lucus."

The boy nodded before darting forward to hug the elder male who only froze for a moment before hugging back. This child had wormed his way into Tam's life, had gotten the hedgehog to care about him and had even won over Cay in the end. Tam certainly wasn't going to forget this kid and the gloves on his hands would help him not to. He stepped back from Lucus and followed after the lion, looking back once to wave at the child who waved back happily.

The lion led Tam to a hut towards the back of the village. People whispered and pointed, faces filled with confusion and fear. It was clear that now they could see the differences between himself and this world's Sonic they were unsure of what to think about him. The lion invites Tam inside what looks like a workshop of some kind. There are diagrams littering the walls and floor, scale models of battlefields and the metal city and maps with sections marked off and written on. It's a war room Tam realizes while Cay trembles on his ear.

"You have an impressive setup, though I must ask why you have a war room built in what I've been told is a Sanctuary for orphaned children." Tam pondered aloud. The lion still watched him warily, hand inching towards what the blue hedgehog recognized as a laser gun strapped to his waist.

"Who are you? Why do you look like Sonic?" The lion asked instead of answering the question.

Tam clicked his tongue at the rudeness. "Normally when asking for one's name you introduce yourself first."

"Cyrus." Comes the clipped reply.

"Much better. Now to answer your questions. The reason I look like Sonic is that I am a variant of him, just from a different world to this one." Tam sighed, feeling like a broken record at this point. "To avoid confusion I go by a shortened version of my birth name."

"Maurice?" Cyrus questioned which had Tam blinking.

"Pardon?"

"Maurice, that's this world's Sonic's birth name." Cyrus pointed out to which Tam huffed in amusement.

"Well, it certainly isn't mine. I go by Tam and no, I will not be telling you what my full birth name is because it is quite the mouthful and hard to pronounce for most Mobians and people." Tam smiled, fingers tracing over the scale model of the metal city. "I only came here to bring the child."

"Thank you for that, we didn't realize there was any still slive in that section of the city," Cyrus muttered quietly.

"He was good at hiding as any frightened child would be." Memories of an angry Uncle and hiding in closets, under the kitchen sink, up in the attic. Cay trembled where he lay hidden, spider body changing into that of a blue lacewing insect. "He didn't deserve what happened to him so I brought him here."

Cyrus was silent, typing away on a small device he held while Tam watched from the corner of his eye. Cay had taken wing, flying to sit on the far wall to better view the whole room for possible threats or information. Tam watched as Cay moved to be behind Cyrus, looking at what he was doing on the device.

 _'He's sending a message to Sonic, asking him to come to Sanctuary right away.'_ Cay sent and Tam smiled softly. He wasn't too worried about meeting this Sonic as there were some clear differences between them, more so than the Sega Sonic at least. So he waited, asking questions of Cyrus and slowly learning more about this world and this Sonic in turn. Cay practically vibrated when they were told that in this world Sonic was a Prince and the eldest of triplets, having a brother and sister. They both shuddered when told that the three young ones were looking for their mother. It was enough to send Cay flying back to Tam to sit among his sharp quills, suddenly defensive and sullen. It must have been almost night fallen when the sound of a van draw Tam's attention and Cyrus looked up hopefully. Not two seconds later a blur of blue burst into the room and Tam found himself gazing into deep black eyes.

This version of himself was very different indeed. He was younger, probably about fourteen or fifteen so was shorter. He was also rounder, having always had access to food and therefore acquired the baby fat Tam never did from having little to eat growing up. Around his neck hung a medallion of a double-necked guitar that thrummed with power and his face and body language screamed of cockiness and over-confidence.

"You sure he ain't a robot Cyrus?" The voice was high, still breaking with puberty. It was amusing to Tam who learnt early on to control his voice and rid himself of the embarrassment.

"He's real alright. He claims to be another version of you from another dimension." Cyrus said while eyeing Tam. A scoff of disbelief was the response Sonic gave as two more figures walked into the room. Tam looked them up and down, noting the colour differences but the similar body and facial shape as well as the way they held themselves. Twins indeed.

"You can take what you will from my tale, it is up to yourselves whether you chose to believe me or not," Tam said calmly. The boys didn't know what to do which made Tam want to laugh but the girl was sizing him up, her eyes calculating. An educated person, at last!

"Tam is it?" She asked to which the taller green eyed blue hedgehog nodded. "My name is Sonia and these are my brother's Manic and Sonic. You say you are from another world, could you please explain that?"

Tam stood there, sizing her up right back while Cay whispered frantically from inside his quills. "My world is like yours in that it's a variant of Mobius yet it is also very different. One such difference is my eyes, they are coloured while yours are black. In my world, everyone has coloured eyes where I come from. Another difference is that I do not possess siblings nor am I a descendant of royalty."

"You're educated though, you speak in a proper manner." Sonia pointed out.

"That I am. In my world, we do not have social class but in the town, I grew up in, Stanford, we had a University which is where I liked to spend most of my time. The scholars took it upon themselves to educate me in as many areas as they could." Tam said.

As Tam spoke, the green one, Manic was slowly making his way behind the green-eyed Mobian. Tam pretended not to take note, eyes focused solely on Sonia while Cay kept a close eye on the green hedgehog.

"Why are you here in our world then?" Sonic spoke up, arms crossed and face set in a scowl. He was defensive, Tam could see it and read it in the tense lines of his face and back.

"I had recently acquired a way to travel between worlds and am now on a journey of self-discovery. That and my own world was becoming very trivial and predictable, I needed a change of scenery." Tam smiled just as he felt a hand ghosting into his quills.

Manic had seen the faint shimmer of the Alethiometer within the blue quills and couldn't resist trying to swipe what looked like a valuable and expensive item. What the younger male wasn't counting on, however, was for an enraged silver dragon to suddenly burst from the quills and snap angrily at his hand, sea-green eyes flashing in warning.

"Theif! How dare you try and put your filthy hands on it and take that which isn't yours!" Cay screamed from Tam's shoulder, wings flapping madly and tail lashing. Manic scrambled back to his siblings and Cyrus who were all looking at Cay in open shock while Tam himself gave a spitting hiss of anger, lips curling back in a snarl.

"I don't like having my possessions stolen at the best of times. But if you try that again you will find yourself without a hand." He threatened, Cay, growling in agreement. The group before them blinked, trying to understand what had just happened which is why Cay decided to confuse them even more, changing into a small type of macropod that was a soft cream colour. The group jumped in shock while Tam turned and eyed Cay with open curiosity. "You've never been that before."

"Lagorchestes, hare-wallaby. We saw pictures of them back in Chris' world when we were travelling across Australia towards the Island." Cay responded in turn.

"What the hell is that thing?" Manic finally broke his voice high with fright.

"I am not a thing, thank you very much! I am a daemon and you will treat me with respect in the future." Cay cried.

Seeing their confusion and fear Tam was quick to step in, quickly explaining the nature of daemons and how everyone back in his world had one. He explained the rules around them as well the reason behind Tam hiding Cay from others view. It was understandable once explained, after all, what better way to attack someone then by going after their soul? Back on Daemon Mobius, which Tam and Cay decided they would call their homeworld, it was a respected rule to not go after a daemon. it was just something you didn't do, even when fighting an enemy or rival. Daemons fought daemons and Mobians fought Mobians.

"That's so fascinating. Having part of yourself outside, it would make it so much easier to understand the true nature of someone." Sonia breathed which had Tam smiling. He liked this girl, she could read between the lines and understand things most wouldn't.

"It makes it very easy to tell if someone if lying, I'll tell you that." He muttered while Cay grooming his face.

"What would our daemons be then?" Manic asked, his fear long forgotten. "You said you could see them even on those that don't have them physically by their side."

Tam frowned, gazing at the group before him and decided to do Cyrus first. The lion went ridged under the intense stare and Tam watched the Dust sharpen and flare along with his emotions, forming beside him. "You have a monkey of some kind, I cannot tell what species though."

Sonia was next and she just smiled, open and trusting with no fear. "An owl, a short-eared owl."

Manic all but jumped into Tam's line of sight in his excitement to learn what his soul was. "A grey-hound."

When it came to Sonic, Tam hesitated only slightly. The Sega Sonic had a wolf soul, the soul of a warrior. But this Sonic wasn't anything like that Sonic and he wasn't anything like Tam so would that mean that his daemon would again be different. With a deep breath, Tam turned and _looked_ at his double, eyes widening in surprise while Cay sneezed in bewilderment. "A leopard."

"Why isn't his daemon soul thingy like yours? Ain't you the same person?" Manic questioned to which Tam gave a soft sneer.

"We are variants of each other, the same from the structural standpoint yet fundamentally different. We have had vastly different upbringings which has resulted in different personalities which in turn results in different settling of daemons." Tam said as Cay changed into a horned owl and perched himself on the back of one of the chairs. "A difference in heritage might also explain why Cay continues to change though we are still unsure on this matter."

Silence descended upon them once more, the natives looking suddenly unsure of themselves while Tam and Cay continued to walk around the room, eyes all the plans and blueprints scattered here and there with interest. It was Cyrus who spoke up.

"Look, Tam, it isn't that we don't trust you, it's just that for the time being, we should probably have you put somewhere secure to make sure you truly are on our side." The lion muttered which had Tam scowling angrily. "You have to understand, we are in the middle of a war right now and we can't take any chances."

"So you wish to lock me up." Tam snapped right back. Cyrus opened his mouth to argue back but never got the chance. The door to the hut burst open and a blur of orange came flying in and latched itself to Tam's body. The green-eyed male tensed, ready to attack the sudden intruder when he suddenly was faced with a tearful little face that he recognized instantly.

"You can't lock Mister Tam up! He ain't done anything! He's good and he brought me here when he didn't have too." Lucus cried shocking all those in the room. Tam smiled softly at the child, happy that at least someone was on his side in this world. Cay hooted softly in comfort, lamp yellow eyes softening around the edges.

"While it is a pleasure to see you again Lucus, shouldn't a young one such as yourself be in bed at this time of the night?" Tam questioned which had the little bear cub puffing out his cheeks angrily.

"I haven't had a bedtime since Ma and Pa left! That and I ain't-a baby, I can stay up late if I want to. I am ten after all." The child argued and Tam just had to laugh at his response. Clearly, Lucus believed himself to be well on his way to adulthood at ten years of age.

"Be that as it may, what are you doing up so late? I thought you would have been quite excited to sleep in an actual bed for once." Tam asked.

Lucus suddenly looked down, eyes troubled and filled with fear. "I heard some of them grown-ups talkin' about how you were gonna be sent away or locked up. Said you were here to hurt us or give away Sanctuary's location. But I know you Mister Tam and you ain't like that. Your good and nice cause you was nice to me and taught me how to make fire and about the tribe's stuff. I came to find you to make sure they didn't take you away."

The innocent words had something inside Tam un-curling, something that was growing warmth and strong inside his chest. The Mobian watched as daemon feathers fluffed up slightly in response to the feeling and wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to feel loved and appreciated. Lucus barely knew them after all yet was willing to speak up on their behalf to what was obviously the leaders of the resistance as well as the monarchy. The child saw something in Tam that he didn't think he would ever be able to see in himself. The child saw someone he could depend and look up too, a role model.

"Thank you, Lucus, for your concern," Tam muttered while placing a comforting hand on the boys head. the child beamed up at him before turning back to the watching group, a determined scowl set on his young face.

"You ain't taking Mister Tam anywhere. He's my friend and I won't let you lock him up." He huffed. Clearly, Lucus meant for the display to look intimidating but to everyone else, it just looked adorable. Sonia was smiling softly, her obsidian black eyes flicking up to look at Tam who was watching the bear cub with a fond expression. It was this expression that sparked an idea in her mind.

"What about this Lucus. We won't lock Tam up but we'll put him with a guard, someone who will keep an eye on him for the next few days to make sure he really is as nice as he says he is." She offered. Tam narrowed his eyes dangerously at the magenta female. He didn't need a babysitter.

"I guess that's better than bein' locked up. But who's gonna be his guard?" Lucus asked to which Sonia smiled sweetly.

"Well, I think you seem like a trustworthy young man that can keep Tam in line. I think you will make a perfect guard." She said to which Lucus' eyes widen in shock, Manic, Sonic and Cyrus gave her wide-eyed looks of disbelief and Tam cocked an eye ridge at her.

"I can do that," Lucus said seriously.

"Good, I'm putting my trust in you. Now, why don't you take Tam back to your hut and get some sleep?" Sonia muttered while giving the child a gentle nudge towards the door. Lucus nodded, trying to stifle a yawn as he did so while taking Tam's hand in his own. Tam himself look at Sonia questioningly but she just smiled and winked. With a sigh the blue male allowed himself to be led off by the small child, head crashing onto the pillow and falling asleep within seconds as the day's events finally caught up with him.

It was odd having a child constantly by his side Tam decided. He thought it would be aggravating to no end yet Lucus wasn't aggravating at all. His constant questions were annoying, in fact, Tam enjoyed them as it gave him a chance to pass on what he deemed important knowledge. It was nice to also have someone willing to listen and learn things others would find disturbing and wrong.

"In my Stanford, I read a book about a group of mercenaries known as Tartans who would go through a ritual where a hole would be cut into their skulls while they were alive," Tam said to Lucus as they sat on a log by a pond. The rest of the little village was up and about doing their own thing so no one was nearby to hear the gruesome things Tam was telling the young child. Lucus for his part didn't seem horrified by what he was being told. Far from it, he looked fascinated by the information and was eager to learn more.

"Why did they do that?" He asked, bouncing in his seat with excitement.

"They believed it would let the gods send them visions and messages. It was seen as a privilege to go through it." Tam explained. Lucus breathed in awe, absorbing all the information like a sponge. Tam enjoyed it, spinning tales so that the child wouldn't know he came from another world. It seemed that even though he looked remarkably like Sonic Lucus decided that because Tam had green eyes, was taller, skinnier and had a different name they weren't the same person. It was the type of logic only a child could come up with yet it made perfect sense.

"You sure know a lot of interesting stuff." Lucus marvelled.

"Well, at least someone gets it." Carpet python-Cay huffed from the tree beside them. "Everyone else thinks the information is meaningless or taboo."

"What's that mean?" Lucus asked.

"Forbidden or something people avoid discussing." Tam put in.

Lucus scrunched up his nose at this looking extremely confused. "Well, that's just stupid. How are you gonna learn things if people are too scared to talk about them?"

Tam smiled and Cay gave an amused hiss. Lucus truly was a remarkable child. They had been with the child four days, two during their treck to Sanctuary and two with the boy acting as their guard. During those four days, they had come to be very attached to the child who had gifted them with the black fingerless gloves and had been open to their teachings.

"What else comes from your Stanford that they don't have or talk about here?" Lucus asked.

Tam paused, felt he bond thrum with a moment of wariness before it calmed. Taking it as the okay from his other half Tam reached into his quills and pulled out the golden disk that had been sitting heavy in his quills for the past two days, hidden from Manic's wandering fingers. Lucus stared at the ancient artefact with wide curious eyes, leaning forward on the log to get a better look.

"What is it?"

"It's called an Alethiometer," Cay whispered as he glided down as white and blue Pheonix.

"What's it for?" Lucus pressed on.

"It can show glimpses of what is to come, what has been and what is happening right now. Some people call it a truth reader while others just simply refer to it as a golden compass. Only six were ever made but the rest were destroyed because people feared the power they held." The daemon explained while Tam began to turn the hands on the compass.

"You use the hands to point to different symbols that best represent a question you want to be answered. You then clear your mind and watch the blue hand as it points to even more symbols that answer the question. Its hard to read because you need to understand the different levels each symbol means but once you understand them it becomes quite simple." Tam added. Lucus was all wide-eyed and intrigued, mind bursting with possibilities such a device could hold.

"I bet you could use that thing to see what Robotnik is up too. That way the resistance would have the upper hand." The bear cub declared to which Tam smiled.

"I could indeed do such a thing, but this isn't a toy that one can use whenever they please. The Alethiometer has a mind of its own at times and won't always answer the question directly. You can't have everything handed to you in life, after all, you must work for things." Tam cautioned. He'd learnt quickly not to abuse the Alethiometer's power. The device truly did seem to have its own personality at times as it quickly began to give vague answers until finally, Tam understood he needed to do some things on his own.

"Still, could you try now? Sonic, Sonia and Manic are on a mission in the city and I wanna know if they are winning or not." Lucus pleaded with large puppy eyes. Tam chuckled and couldn't see the harm in such a question, especially seeing how it was merely just a demonstration.

Taking the golden disk in hand Tam began to turn the hands, pointing to the beehive, helmet and hourglass. They seemed the right symbols to use with the beehive for productive work, helmet for war and hourglass for time. With the question in mind, Tam cleared his mind and sank into the trance-like state, letting the Alethiometer guide the blue hand and watching is progress.

 _Is the mission going well?_

 _The star children will fall to metal today unless you step in_

Tam jerked at this and the Alethiometer gave him another push, urging him to hurry least this world crumble to a tyrants rule. Cay was flaring beside him, his flames surging up into the sky while Lucus was watching on with worry. Tam looked at the child with wide eyes before reaching out to take his hand. "Tell Cyrus that the royal triplets have been compromised and that I've gone to fetch them."

Lucus nodded quietly, watching as Tam stood and placed the Alethiometer back in his quills as Cay changed into a tree kangaroo so he could cling to the shoulders of the blue male. Before Tam could take off, however, Lucus gave him a quick hug.

"Promise you'll come back."

Tam blinked before smiling. "I cannot promise I will return here, but I promise I will be alright. If I do not come back, know I shall not forget your kindness or acceptance. You are a good kid Lucus, don't lose that."

Like a ghost, Tam was there one second and gone the next, a strong draft of wind the only sign of his being there. Lucus stared off into the forest where his strange friend had gone, feeling strangely empty yet content at the same time. He knew Tam wouldn't be coming back but that he wasn't going to be dying today. He would just be moving on to his next adventure once he'd taken care of the royal triplets. It hurt to know he wouldn't be seeing him again but Lucus didn't mind, Tam and Cay were free spirits and couldn't be contained, it was meant to be this way.

 **Frost: I loved writing Lucus, the relationship between him and Tam was just so entertaining to create and shape. It also gave me an excuse to develop Tam's homeworld and add little bits of information about Tam himself. Let me know what you all thought and send in those requests! See you all next time!**


	4. Underground Universe Part 3

**Frost: Hello everyone and happy new year. I have a feeling 2018 is gonna be great. So this will be the final Underground Universe chapter so after this Tam and Cay will be moving on to a new world. Hope your all excited for it cause I know I am. More secrets are gonna be revealed in this chapter so get your spy glasses out and have fun!**

The trip that had taken Tam and Lucus two days took Tam only an hour by himself. He ran along the hidden paths of the forest, watching as the trees slowly began to wither and die the closer he got to the city. Getting there was easy, as was sneaking into the little-abandoned street where Lucus had been found. The remains of the SwatBot that Tam had destroyed all those days ago was gone, cleaned up like it had never been there while the old bags of trash and destroyed market stands remained in place. It was a sorry sight but also felt like a warning to those desperate enough tp try and scope out a living here. That if they tried then the same thing that had befallen those before would happen again. It would not do well to dwindle in such a place so Tam turned his sights towards the massive factory/palace like building that towered over the rest of the city.

This Robotnik certainly wasn't trying to hide, though, with having conquered most of the planet there probably wasn't much of a need to hide. It made Tam's job a lot easier though. He knew the captured royal siblings would be taken straight to the human which in turn meant they'd be taken to the man's palace like structure. Moving silently through the shadowy streets, avoiding the detection of the spy bots and patrolling SwatBots, Tam paused when reaching an air duct. Cay, who had been silent and still the whole time jumped from his shoulder, becoming a small black rat that scurried inside to have a peak around. Tam waited, eyes twitching ever so slightly when Cay got to the very edge of their fourteen-meter distance before rushing back.

"No infer-red lasers or cameras. He must either not have them or has turned them off because he feels safe having the triplets captured." Cay whispered, scurrying up to his customary perch on Tam's shoulder.

"Idiotic." Tam hissed back but really he wasn't complaining. It just meant his job was much easier than first anticipated. Taking out Æsahættr, Tam only had to gently run the tip of the blade over the metal to cut through it like it was hot butter. Lips quirking in amusement, Tam and Cay began to make their way through the twisting and winding turns of the air ducts, Cay in the form of a beagle so as to track the scent of the triplets. It was awkward and the odd angle had the healing wound on Tam's side twinging with dull phantom pains. Cay gave one loud huff as he too felt the pain but other than that neither acknowledged it. Tam tried to keep track of where they were going, right, left, left, up, left, right, up, left, up but after a while it all became too confusing.

They travelled through the ducts for minutes before Cay suddenly paused, looking down at a grate where Tam could see into a large spacious room with a strange machine at its centre. Restrained against the far wall, emerald green eyes caught sight of the triplets with their faces set into defiant scowls. Prowling along before them, however, was a figure that had Tam's full attention.

There was a clear echo of Eggman in the man. They both seemed to have the same favour for the colour red, both had lost all their hair and were both very rounded. This man, however, had shorter legs and a much more malicious looking face. His voice was deeper, with more of a growl to it and his eyes glowed an eerie red. When Tam looked at him he didn't see the customary vulture outlined on the man's shoulder. Instead, he spied what appeared to be a breed of snake curled around his left wrist.

"And oh, how the mighty have fallen." The human gloated to the three restrained hedgehogs. Sonia and Manic scowled while Sonic jerked his arms forward, straining against his chains with eyes flashing in warning. "I've waited a long time for this moment rodent."

"You need to get out more than," Sonic growled. Tam had to give the younger version of himself credit, he was very brave even in the face of defeat. Robotnik didn't seem to think so as he drew himself to his full height.

"Well, if you are so eager then I guess we should get this over with." Tam watched as Sonia and Manic's faces paled while Sonic remained strong, glaring hatefully up at the man. The outline of the she-leopard was snarling up at the human, fur standing on end and Tam felt Cay shudder beside him with the desire to change. Tam watched as two more Mobians, a wolf and a dingo, walked into sight and started to drag Sonic towards the machine. Sonia and Manic were screaming, Robotnik was laughing yet Tam remained where he was watching with wide fascinated eyes. Once Sonic's feet were strapped down metal walls began to descend from the roof, ready to encase the hedgehog and turn him to cold hard metal. For a moment, Tam was still, torn between doing nothing and doing everything. He had no emotional connections to these people, why should he help? But then he thought of Lucus who seemed to look up to the triplets, who said they would save him and everyone else and bring back the times of peace of happiness.

Like moving on auto-pilot, Tam rolled into a ball and cut through the grate and into the room. He slipped Æsahættr back out and cut through the metal straps holding Sonic down, put the knife away from view before coming to a stop before the other two hedgehogs. They were staring in shock at him but Tam only had eyes for Robotnik who looked ready to explode from anger and shock.

"Greetings," Tam began with a low bow. "My name is Tam, I don't believe we've met."

The human's face was turning an alarming shade of red and purple. "What is this? How are there two of him?"

"Do you think we broke him?" Cay asked, coming up over Tam's shoulder as an Aye-aye. Robotnik and his two henchmen jerked back in shock which had Cay snickering and Tam's lips quirking in amusement.

"What is that thing?" The wolf cried.

"I don't care what it is, kill it!" Robotnik yelled. "And get those hedgehogs!"

"Well, I think we've outstayed our welcome. Shall we?" Tam asked the triplets who were now all free while gesturing to the far door. There was no need to be asked twice. The triplets took off running, the sounds of a fight issuing from the hall as they ripped apart SwatBots on their way out. Tam paused in the doorway, looking Robotnik up and down in a lazy sort of fashion. "You're certainly more of a threat than my Eggman, but I still don't find myself feeling fear from you."

Cay sneered, dropping from Tam's shoulder and becoming a black leopard which ha the occupants of the room jumping in fright. His tail twitched slightly, golden eyes dancing with joy at the fear before he and his boy quickly left the room and the building behind. They caught up with the royal family just at the edge of the city.

"Thank you, Tam, for saving us." Sonia breathed while clutching at the stitch in her side.

"It's a one-time thing," Tam responded which earned him slightly angry looks from the two boys.

"Why's that huh? Gonna turn on us?" Manic snapped.

"No, I'm leaving soon. This world, it has been fascinating but it doesn't have much else for me anymore. It is time I moved on." Tam said, one hand resting on Cay's head. The triplets were silent for a moment, eyeing Tam with suspicion but they nodded in understanding all the same. Sonic and Manic seemed almost happy he was leaving while Sonia just seemed a little confused as to his sudden desire to depart. It was for the best though. He'd done what he'd needed to do here and no it was time o move on.

"I wish you luck in your trials to come," Tam said while holding a hand out towards his double. Sonic blinked in surprise before hesitantly taking the offered hand. "You will find your mother, remember that."

"Hang on, wait! How do you know?" Sonic asked.

"We just know things," Cay smirked as his body melted into that of an albino serval. The two halves of one whole watched the siblings retreat back into the forest though not in the direction of Sanctuary. This caused a brief moment of curiosity to flare inside Tam but he pushed it aside. Maybe one day he would return and this world would be on its way to healing. For now, though there wasn't anymore he could do to help without interfering too much. He stood there, looking into the forest where the three younger hedgehog's had disappeared, all the while conscious of the pair of eyes watching him from the tree line.

"You know, its considered rude to stare." Tam pointed out while turning to look at where he knew the figure was standing. There was the sound of twigs snapping as the figure jumped, followed by a flash of purple as a tall female hedgehog stepped into view. She wore a thick travelling cloak and hidden under the hood Tam could just spy what looked like a crown. "Greetings, your majesty."

"Greetings young one." She bowed her head to him before her eyes travelled down to stare at Cay, something that had both parties tilting their heads curiously at her, "And hello to you as well little soul."

"Well, I like you." Cay declared happily.

"I wanted to thank you both for saving my children. I nearly lost them today and I never want to experience that again." The Queen muttered. "A mother's love for her children, it is something that is both a blessing and a curse at times."

"Well I wouldn't know, I never had a mother." Tam smiled lazily, eyes half-lidded. The Queen's eyes widened before clouding with sadness.

"Well, I'm sure your mother loved you very much." She said in what Tam assumed was a comforting way.

"Not that it matters now does it? The dead cannot love after all."

"Perhaps not, or maybe they have even more love to give in death than in life." The Queen said which had Tam huffing a small laugh.

"Why do you hide from them?" He asked instead of continuing with their conversation of lost mothers and lost love. "They search for you and you care deeply for them yet you hide yourself away. Why is that?"

The Queen shifted where she stood, eyes filled with such pain and longing that Tam found utterly fascinating. "Shortly after their birth, a prophecy was told. _Triplets born, a throne awaits. A seer warns of a deadly fate. Give up your children, separate. Bide your time, lie in wait._ That same seer has warned me against reuniting with my children before the time is right and so I must watch them from afar, never allowed to get too close until the time is right."

Tam felt his whole body tremble with excitement. He'd read about seers back at Standford University and had always longed to meet one. To have future knowledge was a powerful and dangerous thing and something Tam desired. Cay was buzzing beside him, body rippling ever so slightly as the bond thrummed between the two.

"This Seer, where would I find him?" Tam asked and watched as wariness entered the Queen's eyes for the first time.

"I'm not sure it would be wise for the two of you to meet." She muttered quietly which has a vicious smile stretching across Tam's face, Cay rising with him as a completely black Dire wolf with burning red eyes.

"You forget yourself, your majesty. You are not our mother, it is not your place to decide who we should and should not meet. Now I ask again, where can I find this seer?" Tam asked in such a soft and pleasant voice, Cay baring his long sharp fangs beside him. The Queen had gone pale, obsidian black eyes nothing put small fearful pin-pricks. Green eyes moved to look at her side where a small outline of a common house cat could be seen with its fur standing on end.

"H-he lives in the mountains, hidden away inside a cave surrounded by ice and snow." The Queen finally breathed, her eyes never leaving the burning red ones that seemed to see into her very being.

Tam smiled, all teeth and looking remarkably like a Cheshire cat. "Thank you very much, your majesty, for your honesty. We'll be going now. And I suggest keeping a closer eye on your children. I won't be there to save them the next time they get into trouble."

They left her standing there at the edge of the forest, moving away into the dead trees until they could no longer see her before pulling out Æsahættr. Tam moved the blade through the air in front of him, feeling for a specific section in the fabric of this world. He could feel all the possible openings that would lead him to different places in this world and also into other worlds. None of them were right though so he kept looking until he passed by one that sent a shiver of cool air running up his arm. Tam smiled before gently pushing the dagger into the place before him, opening the doorway into a snow-covered landscape that stretched for miles around. He shivered once, Cay shaking out his body into that of a polar bear before they began to walk. As they walked he pulled out the Alethiometer and began to form out his question.

 _Where will I find this seer?_

 _He will find you in due time._

Tam's lips quirked at this, happy with how things were playing out. Safe in the knowledge that the seer would find them, Tam and Cay settled down in a snow-drift to sink into the warmth each other was giving off.

"You know, you could keep me warmer by becoming a Pheonix." Tam pointed out to which Cay scoffed.

"Predictable. Besides, if we plan on journeying to the North when we return home we need to be ready for such climate." The polar bear reasoned causing Tam to smile softly.

"Is that why you chose this form, to honour the Ice Bears?"

"You know me too well."

They remained silent after that, happy to just enjoy the silence and experience the biting cold that wanted to seep into their bodies and steal their life force away. It was probably a good hour later that a bright light illuminated the area before them that faded away to reveal a green creature of some kind. He had a long nose and wore a purple cloak with the hood drawn up. His black eyes were eyeing the pair warily.

"I understand you've been looking for me." He stated to which Tam smiled.

"I understand you've been looking for us." He countered. The seer's eyes widened not in shock but in curiosity, a contemplative look upon his face.

"You hold the truth reader, don't you?" He asked. Tam answered by pulling out the Alethiometer. "You possess something else too, an object that allows you to go wherever you please."

"That I am not willing to show you," Tam said with an edge to his voice. The Seer nodded in understanding though still looked a little put out about it. Cay huffed at this which drew the male attention towards the daemon. He gazed at Cay with a deep fascination, as if looking upon the most valuable treasure in the universe which both pleased and annoyed Tam and Cay.

"I've read and heard about daemons. Never thought I'd see one in my lifetime though. He truly is a remarkable being." The Seer praised. Cay gazed at him long and hard but refused to speak, refused to honour the being with his voice.

"Thank you for the compliment. We appreciate it." Tam said while putting the Alethiometer away.

The Seer watched them for a moment, considering them and Tam allowed it. He wanted this being to see them, to see everything about them so that he could tell them everything that was needed to know. Eventually, the Seer raised his eyes to lock with Tam's, a tired look to his face. "You wish to know your future."

"We wouldn't be here otherwise." Tam pointed out, watching as the being before him sighed sadly.

"Most do not like what they hear. Future knowledge is dangerous and often those that try to avoid what they've been told end up causing that which they wanted to avoid." The Seer warned but Tam just smiled.

"I understand the risks. Now if you'll tell me what I wish to hear." He pressed. The Seer bowed his head in defeat before lifting his hands. Pure power emanated from his body which had Tam and Cay standing up eagerly, leaning closer to feel the power. They watched as golden figures appeared in the smoke that danced around the Seer's fingers.

 _Two Lovers from a distant world,  
The child they have, gateways unfurl._

Tam stared as these two golden figures embraced before vanishing, a crib lying where they once stood. He felt Cay tense beside him.

 _Child of the wind, of Dust's embrace,  
He will travel through time and space.  
He holds the items three, of powers divine,  
A soul so bright, forever will shine._

The crib vanished too, briefly turning into what resembled the Alethiometer and Æsahættr accompanied by what looked like a monocle the rich would wear. They were there for a moment before being replaced by the constantly changing shapes of different animals.

 _The Universe rests within his hands,  
He will bring peace or fear to all lands._

Tam watched as a golden figure that greatly resembled himself stood, hands outstretched as golden light flowed from them before suddenly clapping them together turning the golden light to a black smoke that slowly vanished into the air. Cay was growling by his side, bright blue eyes glaring at the Seer who was watching them fearfully. Tam simply cocked his head in amusement.

"You're afraid of us." He stated.

"You have a destiny that could go two ways. One would benefit all Universes, the other would destroy them all. I pray you chose the right path." He said softly.

"And I pray that the right one is more interesting than the alternative otherwise I may choose differently," Tam warned with a sharp smile. The Seer paled where he stood but bowed his head, all the same, backing away until he vanished into the white of the snow.

"Well, that was very interesting," Cay mumbled.

"Indeed. We've got more information about our parentage as well as where our future may lie." Tam positively beamed at this information.

"I suppose we better get going. If we are to find this third item of power then I suggest we start searching." Cay rumbled happily while Tam lifted Æsahættr and cut an opening into the next world.

"This is proving to be a very interesting vacation."

 **Frost: God I love writing Tam and Cay. Its especially fun writing them when they go all dark and threatening. As always, send in ideas on what worlds Tam and Cay should visit and I will see you all next time.**


	5. HTTYD Universe

**Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update this. Been super busy and was also struggling with how to write out this chapter as well. I hope I did okay in the end as I feel I kind of rushed a few parts which I hate doing. Anyways, hope you all enjoy and don't forget to suggest a Universe where Tam and Cay can visit!**

Tam and Cay stepped out into more snow. The wind blew like an icy gale that had Tam huddling closer to Cay's body, seeking warmth and shelter from the wind. The area around them looked like an old forest of some kind with large rock formations dotting the landscape. In the distance, the echoing sound of waves crashing against a cliff face reached their ears along with the distinct salty smell of the sea. Tam pondered this information while beginning to walk, snow crunching under his red tennis shoes that were most certainly not well designed for such climates.

"Do you think there's a village nearby?" Tam questioned. The polar bear huffed before lifting his head to sniff at the air. Tam waited, knowing that Cay would be able to smell anything within a few kilometres seeing how Polar bears naturally had a powerful sense of smell.

"I can smell wood smoke due North of here mixed with Iron, leather and fish. Must be a fishing village." Cay rumbled. Tam hummed, climbing up onto his daemon's back and sitting in between the large powerful shoulder blades. With Cay's polar bear feet they would cover far more ground and hopefully reach the village before Tam began to freeze to death. The longer they travelled, however, the more Tam began to realize that something was different about this world. When the young Mobian reached out with his energy to tap into the planets own he frowned at the lack of Chaos Energy. There was an energy there, the planet wouldn't be able to survive if there wasn't one, but it wasn't the Chaos Energy of Mobius. If Tam had to hazard a guess, he'd say it felt more like the energy of Chris' world with only a slight variation. With this realization, Tam jumped from Cay's back to hide amongst some bushes once the village came into view.

"Humans." Daemon rumbled softly, blue eyes flashing.

"Not just any humans either." Tam murmured back, sharp emerald eyes taking in the clothing and lack of technology. "They are Vikings, like from the old history books that Chuck had."

"Which means they could be hostile." Cay frowned while moving closer to his other half. Tam opened his mouth to respond only to gasp and duck down along with Cay when over their heads flew five large figures. Once they had passed over Tam leapt to his feet, his eyes wild with excitement at seeing _real live Dragons!_ These weren't models or a phantom copy like Cay could sometimes be. These were real born dragons that breathed fire and flew. The excitement was so intense that Tam almost went running out to meet them. The only reason he didn't was a large silver tail coming to wrap around his waist to pull him back against a warm scaly chest. Looking up found Cay gazing down at him fondly from a dragon face, golden horns and sea-green eyes shining in the light reflected off his silver scales and the white snow.

"Cay, real dragons! We have to meet with one. They could help us improve your own form so much by showing us how their wings connect to their body and how they manoeuvre their body when flying." Tam began to ramble sounding like an excited child on Christmas.

"All in due time dear one. First, we'll need to figure out how we're going to interact with the locals." Cay chuckled, blowing smoke out his nose. Tam huffed, looking back at where the dragons had landed only to gasp in shocked when he saw six young teenagers jumping off their backs. These humans had tamed the dragons! Tam very nearly started jumping up and down in his excitement while Cay rumbled in thought.

"We must learn their secret on how to approach the dragons!" Tam hissed. He was practically vibrating with glee.

"From a distance then. The last thing we need is a bunch of Vikings hunting us down with axes and hammers." Cay grumbled good-naturedly. Tam sent his daemon a look knowing full well that if the Vikings decided to do just that then they would quickly discover that they wouldn't be hunting Cay, he'd be hunting them.

They watched from the tree line for the rest of the day. When the sun began its decent into the sea, however, they had to abandon their post in favour of finding shelter for the night. Thankfully there seemed to be a high number of caves scattered around what they quickly discovered was an island. Gathering enough wood to last the night, Cay and Tam curled up with one another by a roaring fire as the stars outside glimmered. In the distance, the roars and cries of dragons echoed throughout the night which lulled Tam into a peaceful sleep.

( _Æsahættr teleutaia makhaira_ )

Hiccup had been hoping for a sleep in seeing how he'd taken Toothless out for a long flight the day before with the thought in mind to tire the dragon out. He'd been hoping to just have a relaxing morning, to finally have a day where he'd wake up on his own terms. So to hear a certain Nightfury making loud whimpering sounds while scratching at the walls was most certainly not a welcomed sound to hear when the sun as only just starting to peak over the horizon. With a frustrated groan, Hiccup rolled out of his bed, hands groping for his fake leg.

"Really Toothless? We couldn't have just one sleep in?" The teen asked groggily only to yelp when the dragon began to almost aggressively herd them towards the door. "Whoa, hey! Easy Buddy, easy! What's the rush?"

Toothless just gave a low rumbling growl, head lowered in a way that set Hiccup's teeth on edge. He'd learned to read his companions mood, body language and vocalisations very well over the last few months. At times it was almost like they were two halves of one whole with how well they understood each other. What Hiccup was picking up right now was that his friend was unsettled about something and was trying to tell him what was wrong. Hiccup's first thought was to go find his friends for back up. He didn't know what it was Toothless was trying to lead him too, it could be dangerous in which case more heads would be a big help. But at the same time, something was telling him to go alone.

"Is this going to turn out really bad?" Hiccup asked, watching as Toothless whined at him. Those acid green eyes bore into his own forest green ones and in that moment complete trust flowed between them. Toothless wouldn't let anything happen to him and Hiccup believed it. "Alright, let's go bud."

The moment Hiccup was fastened safely on the saddle Toothless rocketed up into the sky. Once he'd climbed to a reasonable hight he began to fly towards the northern side of the island where the forest was thick and dense. Hiccup hadn't been into those woods much due to how dark and thick the forest was and how easily one could get lost in them. There was also the added risk of the many wild dragons that took refuge in their dark embrace. Why Toothless was heading in that direction he couldn't say, but he trusted his dragon friend probably more than any other living being in the world so didn't try to change their course.

With perfect precision, Toothless descended and weaved in between the trees like he'd done it a thousand times before. Hiccup leaned with each turn, body hung low over the dragon's back to minimise drag and to help him keep his balance. A large rock loomed in the distance and Toothless spread his wings out, slowing his flight until he could land softly on its surface.

Looking around Hiccup couldn't see anything that would have caused such a strong reaction in his friend. All looked normal and peaceful until the hairs on the back of his neck raised accompanied by the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Toothless began to growl, tail coming to wrap protectively around Hiccup.

"Who's out there?" Hiccup called out, wondering if perhaps it was a lost traveller. When no response came he felt that primal fear begin to grow. "Are you human?"

The silence stretched on until the sound of branches moving filled the air. Tensing, Hiccup watched as a large shape moved into view. It was a dragon, a dragon he'd never seen before. It was large, probably the size of his house and was a gleaming silver colour. It had two long horns atop its head that were a dazzling golden colour and a long serpent-like neck. The wings reminded Hiccup of a bats, the membrane looking like a pale milky white and were folded neatly against the dragons back. It had four legs that had long black claws as well as a long tail that ended with a golden spearhead. Finally, Hiccup looked into the dragon's eyes that were a burning molten golden coloured flecked with crimson red and glowing orange. Those eyes were intelligent, when they looking into his own he felt like he wasn't gazing not into a dragons eyes but another human.

"I'm not a human." Toothless growled loudly while Hiccup stumbled back in shock at the deep rumbling voice that escaped the dragon's mouth.

"Y-you…you talk!" It probably wasn't the most intelligent thing to say but really, its all Hiccup could manage in such a situation.

"Of course he can talk! He'd be dreadfully boring if he didn't." A new voice declared making Hiccup jump. When he turned to face the voice he couldn't help but give a yelp of fright.

It wasn't a dragon and it wasn't a human. It was a mammal that stood on two legs, feet clad in red and white shoes and hands covered in black fingerless gloves. The animal was mainly a bright blue in colour with its arms, muzzle and stomach being a soft peach colour. Along their left side is a thin red line, a healing cut that looks like it will leave a permanent scar. Its head is adorned with long and sharp looking spines and the creature's eyes at the brightest shade of green Hiccup has ever seen reminding him of a precious gemstone. They smile at him, eyelids half closed in a lazy sort of calmness.

"I must say, I've never had that reaction to my presence before." They say in a soft, whispery voice. It leaves Hiccup feeling deceptively calm. "We apologise if we startled you but, then again, you did startle us first. We weren't expecting visitors."

"Ummm." Hiccup looked between the two, unsure on what he should do next when Toothless gave a loud huff, glaring at the pair warningly. Almost instantly the blue creature's eyes snap to gaze at Toothless in an almost awed way, admiring the dragon for all he is worth.

"You have an impressive companion there." He mutters.

"His name is Toothless." Because that seems like a good response.

"Toothless? What an odd choice of names."

This causes the silver dragon to snort in amusement. "Your one to talk considering what your name is."

"What is your name?" Hiccup tensed when they both turned to face him, wondering if he should even be talking with these strange beings. He didn't know what they were, they could be dangerous, could try to kill him at any second and here he was asking for their names!

"Tam, and this is my Caedmon." The blue creature said, hand coming up to rest on the dragon's flank.

"Hiccup, and..uh this is Toothless like I said before." It's awkward, more than it probably has to be but Hiccup thinks he's allowed to be just so. He stands there, shifting from foot to foot nervously before clearing his throat awkwardly. "So..uh…what kind of dragon are you Caedmon?"

The dragon tilts its head curiously at Hiccup, Tam's face splitting into a wide grin that leaves the human feeling unsettled and jumpy. "From what I've read, my current form is that of a European dragon. Other than that it does not have a defining species as I've taken aspects of many different pictures I've seen of dragons."

Now that has Hiccup reeling. It almost sounds like Caedmon is implying that he hasn't always looked the way he is and that if he so chose to he could change his appearance on a whim. But that just wasn't possible, it was physically impossible to change ones form! As if reading his very thoughts both Tam and Caedmon gave him wicked smiles, eyes flashing in an almost challenging way.

"My dear Hiccup, Caedmon is no ordinary dragon. In fact, he isn't even a dragon at all." Tam chuckled.

"W-what is he then?" Hiccup asked to which Tam smiled softly.

"Why, a daemon of course."

As if it were the magic word Caedmon stretched out his wings before he _shifted_ and _changed_ right before Hiccups eyes. The wings shrunk down until they were longer even there, his body too shrunk as the scales rippled and melted away into soft glossy looking fur. His fur coat was a bright burning orange with dark black strips running through it. His face was feline in origin, eyes a striking lamp yellow with long deadly looking canines peak out from under his lips. His paws were large like a bears, perfect for running quickly and silently over hard packed snow. His chest, belly and cheeks were a soft snow white and combined it all made him look strangely beautiful and threatening all in one. Hiccup had never seen a creature like it before. He took three steps back until he collided with Toothless who's head was tilted to the side in curiosity.

"You have nothing to fear," Tam assured him, hand ghosting lightly over the striped fur but not quite touching. "He's still my Caedmon, just in a different form."

"How is that possible?" Hiccup wheezed out.

"Like I said before, Caedmon is a daemon which means he is able to change his form at will. It's a little hard to explain but I'll try my best." Tam sighed before launching into his explanation, feeling like a broken record at this point. Perhaps he should invest in a pen and paper, writing it down so that people could then read what a daemon was without him having to constantly explain it. By the end of it Hiccup seemed to have lost some of his fear yet he was still visibly on edge, wary of this new creature standing before him whos soul walked along beside him.

"So if he can change his form to anything he wants, what animal is he now?" Hiccup asked.

"A tiger, Siberian if I'm not mistaken," Tam said while sending a side glance to Cay who gave a soft chuff of agreement.

"It was growing tiresome always being a Bangle Tiger." He rumbled. Hiccup stared, some of his earlier fear leaving him as he looked the strange creature up and down. Living on an island, Hiccup knew that there was much of the world he'd yet to see and discover. He wondered if this tiger creature was one such thing waiting out there for someone to uncover.

"So how did you both get here? From what you've told me you come from a place very different to this…world?" Hiccup shuddered a little at that. The thought that there were other world's than his own was a little much for him to process. Just this morning his knowledge of life was strictly to only his world, his home and now suddenly he was being told there were many other worlds out there with life. The knowledge left him feeling so much smaller all of a sudden.

"There are many ways to travel between worlds. Cay and I just happen to own one such artefact that can do this." Tam said evasively, quills sharpening ever so slightly. Inside those quills, the knife sat heavy and solid, comforting the Mobian that it was safe. Hiccup opened his mouth to press, his natural curiosity slowly replacing his fear only to freeze at the distant sound of loud screams and dragon calls. Toothless was standing at attention, eyes turning into thin slits while his ear plates moved from side to side. A low growl began to bubble up from the dragon's throat and that was all Hiccup needed to send him leaping onto his companions back.

"We gotta go!" He yelled back to his strange new acquaintance before taking to the air, Toothless rocketing back towards the village. Tam watched them go with a lazy sort of smile before turning to look at Cay.

"Should we help?" He questioned.

"Don't see why not. It'll get us up close to the other dragon species and if the humans turn out to be hostile towards us we can always escape to another world." Cay said while stretching up the kinks in his back. Tam smirked, watching as back stripes slowly turned into spots, large stocky body becoming thin yet powerful as orange fur bled into yellow. The Cheetah gave a yowling call before they both took off at high speed though Tam was moving at more of a slow jog compared to Cay.

It wasn't too hard to find the village again, especially with all the yelling, screaming and dragon calls that were going on. Looking out, Tam could see that apparently, another tribe was attacking the village. The carried long broadswords and heavy axes, swinging with the aim to kill or seriously harm. The Mobian stayed hidden, watching with laser-focused eyes as Hiccup flew above the fight, directing Toothless on where to fire shots of plasma. From watching how the young human directed his dragon friend Tam could tell that he wasn't aiming to kill or hurt, only to scare and intimidate. It showed character and a stronger more well-suited leader, which it seemed he was seeing how he was also giving directions to the other teens, but Tam also knew it showed weakness to the enemy.

This knowledge was why Tam wasn't all that surprised when one of the attacking Vikings finally worked up the courage to move within striking distance of Hiccup, throwing a hook that caught on the boy's vest and yanking him off his dragon. Toothless, without his rider was sent tumbling to the ground while Hiccup landed roughly at the feet of his attack who's axe was raised for a killing blow. It never came because suddenly Tam was there, fist colliding painfully hard against the man's head. He landed on the ground, turning onto his back and ready to get up and fight again only to scream when Cay leaned over him, his Velociraptor face looking demonic due to his decision to have blood red eyes and completely black scales.

The man screamed as if he was looking into the face of the devil himself, scrambling to his feet and running for his life while Cay gave loud honking cries that echoed across the battlefield. The cries and the man's screams drew the attention of the other Vikings who all stared in stunned silence that only grew when Tam walked up to stand beside Cay, one hand resting gently on the daemons right flank. Cay looked down at him before lifting his head, giving a loud blood chilling call that sent a few more Vikings running in terror. Their fear just amused the pair, smiles wide and eyes half-lidded.

"Seems even the famed beserkers are terrified of us." Tam chuckled before turning and taking a step towards Hiccup who was still lying stunned on the floor. "You might want to get back in the air. The ground seems a dangerous place for you."

The human blinked for a few moments before nodding, rushing to Toothless and quickly getting back up in the air. Tam watched only to duck when a sword came flying at him, the blow most certainly would have decapitated him had he not done so. With a narrowed eyed look he struck out with his foot, hitting the man right behind his left knee with bone-shattering force. The man screamed in agony, falling to his knees which allowed Tam to slam his fist right into his face effectively knocking him out cold.

"Idiot." Tam sneered only for his eyes to land on the unconscious man's daggers. "Oh, look at that."

It would be more practical to use them than Æsahættr and safer. Having a dagger that could cut through anything placed a great amount of responsibility in Tam. He knew that Æsahættr wasn't to be used as a toy or as a weapon when necessary. Taking the two plain daggers in hand Tam rushed into the battle, sliding effortlessly on his knees past Vikings, using the daggers to cut into their legs and hips. Like Hiccup, he wasn't aiming to kill but he had no problems in causing harm. These people were looking to cause him harm so why should he show them mercy?

The battle as a whole was over pretty quickly with the invading trib obviously unnerved by Tam enough that they eventually called a retreat. Watching them go standing atop of a cliff, Tam scoffed at their cowardliness. The Vikings he'd read about in Chris' world had been bloodthirsty, never running away from a fight even if it meant death. To die in battle was seen as a great glory and a sure fire way to get you passage into Valhalla. These men wouldn't be given such an honour, that much Tam knew. A sudden weight on his shoulder told him Cay had changed shape to land there but he didn't feel the need to turn and see what form he'd picked, instead focusing on the approaching Vikings heading their way.

The man at the front was clearly the leader. The way he walked, held himself and the way the people followed him told of the power he commanded. His beard was large and a deep reddish brown and he was huge! Large broad shoulders and a stocky build made Tam wonder how hard the man could punch. He might even give Knuckles a run for his money with the strength he held in his large body. Moving quickly, Tam discarded the two daggers he'd stolen, bowing his upper body in a show of respect.

"Chiefton." He muttered, looking up and smiling at the shocked faces before him. "My name is Tam. It is a great honour to meet with you."

The man stood there for a moment before nodding, his face falling into a passive mask. "I wish to thank you for your help during the fight. I'd also like to thank you for saving my son."

Emerald green eyes flicked to the side to lock with forest green ones, Hiccup having appeared silently by what was now obviously his father's side. "Your son show me kindness and hospitality. It seemed only fair that I return that kindness."

"You've met?" Another teenager asked, a boy with the standard horned helmet on his head and an almost pig-like face.

"Toothless found him out in the forest. We were talking when we heard the sound of the fight." Hiccup shrugged, his eyes now trained on the floor.

"Only you would find yourself in such a situation." A teenaged girl with yellow blonde hair huffed though she sounded more fond than annoyed. Tam looked at her, or more precisely at her shoulder where the outline of a bird of some kind sat ever watchful.

"Peregrine," Cay whispered form his place on Tam's shoulder causing the Mobian to finally turn and look down. His daemon had become a little blue and black frog, a poison dart frog. A hummed in acknowledgement but didn't comment further. A Peregrine wasn't all that special after all. It was more borderline common than anything else. He looked to the pig-faced boy only to turn away almost immediately when he saw the wild bor sitting at his feet. Cay swelled up ever so slightly on his shoulder, displeasure flaring through the bond between them. Tam made to look at Hiccup only for two more teenagers to crash through the crowd, a boy and girl who looked very similar to one another, twins.

"Man! That move you pulled on the guy that nearly cut your head off was awesome!" The boy yelled only to have his sister shove him aside.

"Can you hit us like that?" She asked as her twin yanked on her hair.

"Yeah, I wanna see if I can stay awake." He grinned like a loon. Tam could only blink in slight surprise as the two begged him to cause them physical harm. When he tried to focus on their daemons he could only shake his head as he watched the blurred outlines of them dart about frantically just like their human counterparts.

"No one is hitting anyone." The Chief growled down at the twins who could only pout. Satisfied that the twins wouldn't cause more problems he turned back to Tam who continued to stand there passively. His smile did grow ever so slightly when he noted the large outline of a brown bear standing beside the massive man. It seemed very fitting for the human. "As I said before, we are in your debt for your help. Is there anything we can offer as thanks?"

And now the power was in Tam's hand. He had to fight down the urge to smile at the thought of a Viking Chief owing him a life debt. The Mobian knew he could ask for anything and it would be given to him because he'd saved the Chief's son. This was power that Tam had never held before and knew needed to be used carefully. Sharp green eyes gazed at the dragons swooping low through the air, standing beside Vikings like trained pets and Tam knew what he wanted in return for his services.

"All I ask in return is to learn your ways of life. From where I come from I have read about the feared Viking warriors and tribs. All I wish is to be allowed to immerse myself in your culture." Tam bowed low, eyes half-lidded and smile lazy. He was no fool, he knew these humans would guard their dragon taming knowledge fiercely so he had to play it dumb and innocent if he wanted to learn their secrets. His use of flattery seemed to work for all the Vikings seemed to swell with pride at how he'd described them. Even the Chieftain had stood up a little straighter under the praise.

"Very well. You may stay as long as you wish with us and we will teach you our ways." He declared before giving Tam a levelled glare. "But know this. If you try and cause harm to anyone in the village we will not show mercy."

Tam went to respond but it seemed Cay had decided that he'd been silent long enough. Frog body melting and growing into his favourite silver dragon form, the perfect size to sit on Tam's shoulder, his sea-green eyes danced with amusement at the shocked looks his sudden appearance gained.

"We accept your terms." The Daemon smirked, holding back a chuckle at how the humans all jumped in fright. Instead of explaining himself Cay turned to Hiccup who was the only one not shocked by his sudden appearance. "If you would be so kind as to show us where we will be staying young heir, we would greatly appreciate it."

The young teen nodded before waving them to follow as he turned to walk into the village. Tam nodded to the Chief before following, ignoring the stares that also followed. Staring was, after all, nothing new to him. Tam expected Hiccup to take them to a shack or unused hut. He wasn't expecting to be lead to a house that sat at the top of a hill overlooking the whole village, a house that most certainly belonged to the young boy and his father. When the human turned to face Tam he smiled almost shyly at the confused look he was given.

"I thought you might like to stay with me instead of someone who is more loud and invasive when it comes to privacy." He said as a way of explaining. It was a kindness not often shown to Tam who was seen as an oddity and threat back in his own world. He had seen that, while these people from other worlds still were unnerved by him they were more accepting and caring than those back in his own world. It was an interesting insight and left Tam wondering if he should feel hurt by his own worlds disregard towards him. Thinking on it now Tam decided that it didn't hurt him at all, it just left him feeling indifferent. People's opinion of him and Cay had never mattered to him so why should it start now with this revelation?

He still thanked Hiccup for his generosity, grateful when the boy led him to his own room where he laid out some furs for him to sleep on. After the day he had just gone through Tam was most certainly ready for some much needed and deserved rest. He closed his eyes, excited for the new day where he'd get to explore real Viking culture and hopefully learn some secrets about dragons.

 **This chapter turned out longer than I anticipated, almost 10 pages in a word document. It's why I ended it the way I did cause I was going to keep going until I realized how long it was getting. If I hadn't stopped where I did it would have probably gone on for nearly 20 pages which I feel is just a bit too much.**

 **As always, send in requests to what Universe you want to see Tam and Cay in and have a enlightening day, week, month and year**


End file.
